Lost

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Good Shepherd, hopefulness, pandemic, Psalm 23, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today our Church celebrates what has come to be known as “Good Shepherd” Sunday, a favorite of most churchgoers. This year we might take special notice of the hopefulness of the message in this reading, (PS. 23) if we have felt lost during the pandemic in any way.

I suggest we all do some sort of a visual exercise where we see ourselves being scooped up by Jesus and carried home to his heart. If possible, while being held, try to feel the heart of Jesus beating in your own heart.

Another wonderful exercise is to listen to the song, “Like A Shepherd” from the St. Louis Jesuits.  Whatever it takes, my hope is that you feel the great love of the Good Shepherd who is always with us, loving us more than we can ask or imagine.

Shepherd and King of the Universe

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basic needs, caring, Christ the King, Ezekiel, love, Matthew, Psalm 23, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Americans don’t experience the reality of kings in our world too much any more. We find them more on the Hallmark channel on television. We modern types are more used to “Captains of Industry” and celebrities who have a lot of money. Thus, it is a bit difficult to conjecture Jesus the Christ as what he is now being called as “King of the Universe.” I was struck in today’s lectionary readings by the addition of the universe to that title. I don’t recall that designation – even though it was somehow assumed. Perhaps it’s because we have become conquerers not only of our entire world but of outer space as well…(Perhaps the title has been like that all along and I just didn’t notice).

Here’s the great question though. What kind of king is Christ? “Like a shepherd,” the prophet Ezekiel says, “I will look after and tend my sheep, giving them rest.” (34:11-17) And the psalmist chimes in with that well-known, comforting Psalm 23, saying to us: “There is nothing I shall want. He leads me, guides me, refreshes my soul.” And if that is not enough, Jesus himself gives the invitation when speaking to his disciples – to us. You can find it in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. Listen today as if you were in the presence of Jesus, the Shepherd King, who is telling you what is expected of you.

...For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me…Whatever you did for these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Nothing monumental, just the right thing: caring for each other in the basic needs of life. In other words: Take care of each other. Love as I have loved you. That’s the kind of king we have – and today we’re asked again to become like him.

A New Look

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Good Shepherd, guidance, inner pilgrimage, journey, Lynn Bauman, Psalm 23, Scripture, Stephen Mitchell, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

When we are very familiar with something, be it a place we inhabit or a text from Scripture, we can slide over the experience with only half a mind and miss the significance. Take Psalm 23, the great Shepherd Psalm, for example. Many of us fall back on that text when asked to recite something from Scripture because it is the one that jumps most easily to our lips, so occasionally it helps when praying to adapt the translation in order to  wake us up to new depth.

I am not a fan of changing words just to be trendy and sometimes updating takes the reverence out of a traditional text for me. Not so with Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation of the Psalms or Lynn Bauman’s translation and commentary (which I use frequently in the morning). Two suggestions in Bauman’s notes gave me pause this morning. You might use them as you reflect on your favorite translation.

1. Imagine that this psalm does not refer to the world outside you, but speaks to an interior space or place within your own being. As you do, mark the shifts in relationship between yourself as a “sheep” needing guidance, and God as shepherd guiding you. Note also the changing landscapes of the soul as you are led through this inner pilgrimage.
2. Which part of this journey holds the most significance and poignancy for you at this moment in time? Meditate on those words throughout the day. Ask yourself…”How do I need the care and guidance of the Shepherd at this time in my life?” (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.55)

Sheep

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care, Christ the King, Ezekiel, Good Shepherd, homelessness, humanity, hunger, illness, justice, love, Matthew, Psalm 23, sheep, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I just spent about a half hour reading on the internet about sheep. I never got past the basic information about things like their color (some are very dark brown while most are white), life expectancy (10 – 12 years), amazing peripheral vision (270-320 degrees) which allows them to see behind them, two sets of teeth, excellent hearing and scent glands in front of their eyes and between their toes!!

As I read of their history and the places where they are found (mostly now in Australia, New Zealand, south and central South America and the British Isles) and of their habits, I realized how little I know of these members of the animal kingdom. Much of what I know is from shopping for sweaters, from a few movies about sheep farmers and – of course – from Scripture.

Today, the “Solemnity of Christ the King” offers Scripture texts that use sheep as a metaphor to speak of the kind of king we envision as the “Lord of Heaven and Earth.” The gospel (MT 25) describes a king who rules not with an iron hand but one who “separates the sheep from the goats” at the end of time with the law of love. The measure of this kind of justice is care for the neighbor: feeding, clothing, sheltering and visiting the sick and imprisoned. The surprise is the revelation that when we think our love of neighbor is just simple human charity and do it naturally, God sees it as “superhuman,” a godly act. Or maybe there is no difference…

Of the most universally recognized Scripture passages, those that describe God in the role of shepherd – today in Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23 – are most familiar. Thus, it was not Jesus that first conjectured God’s action in this way; it had been part of the tradition for centuries before his time. Throughout all the tumult of the history of the “chosen people” (among whom we now count ourselves) the thread of God as shepherd has been the model for ruler and servant as well. And we, as God’s flock, can be assured that we will be cared for as those in the charge of a “good” shepherd are. Whether we stay close in the sheepfold or wander off, we can be sure we will always be under the eye of the One who comes searching for us until we are found.

Why, then, would we not care for one another as we ourselves are always cared for? “God is God and we are not,” we might answer. “There is so much hunger and homelessness and illness in the world; how can we solve it all?” “You aren’t the only sheep in the flock. Stay with the flock and just do your part,” I hear God saying to us. “Follow my lead and don’t feel like you have to do it all. Just do your part, and leave the rest to me.” Put that way, it might just be a question of exercising our humanity after all…

 

 

 

 

 

Fly Like A Bird

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bird, flight, fly, freedom of the sky, God's throne, never be alone, psalm 11, psalm 150, Psalm 23, psalm 89, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 11 did not strike me as familiar this morning. It wasn’t like Psalm 23 or 89 or 150 whose words jump to my consciousness. The sentiments were not out of the ordinary for the psalmist – God’s throne in heaven, searching the just and the wicked, the upright seeing God’s face – eventually…but something made me search deeper. I was rewarded immediately upon seeing the title in one of the alternative translations. The whole psalm was easily recognizable there but it was the title that was key. When I read: Fly, Fly Away Like A Bird, I immediately began to sing a song by Ken Canedo that I first heard sung by Jesse Manibusan at a parish youth concert many years ago. Because it is both lyric and music that holds the fullness of the message, I recommend a trip to YouTube today for all of us. (I’ve already listened twice.) Absent that, below are the words of the chorus. For anyone who has ever wished for the gift of flight or watched the birds soar in the freedom of the sky, it is easy to feel the heart of the metaphor.

Fly like a bird to the Lord, my soul. I want to soar like an eagle. Though I may journey far away from home, I know I’ll never be alone.

“Come Away”

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come away, courage, dancing, deep reflection, evil, fear, fearless, Hebrew Scriptures, Psalm 23, spiritual practices, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom School

“Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil, for you are at my side. With your rod and your staff you give me courage.”

These words from Psalm 23, probably the best known of all the psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures, jumped out at me this morning. Then I read that Jesus called his apostles to come away from the crush of the crowds “to a deserted place” for some rest – most likely, for a chance to gain some clarity and reassess what was happening so as to refuel for the re-entry into the ministry that was theirs.

Having arrived in Stonington, Maine yesterday to the shared joy of being with a dozen colleagues whose presence I have enjoyed variously at different “wisdom schools” over the past ten years, I am aware of a similar call to “come away” for fearless and deep reflection on our call to meet the challenges in our country today. Our work will be rigorous and internal, but work it will surely be. Perhaps the outcome will be so subtle as to go undetected by “the crowds” but we will surely be more committed to our spiritual practices and more certain that there is a way forward, although its evolution may still be in seed, thereby impossible to comprehend.

This message itself may be similarly “impossible to comprehend” but I am reminded of a quote on a card that has been in my small treasure box for decades. It says: In the stillness is the dancing, and this morning, that is enough for me to know.

The Heart of the Shepherd

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Ezekiel, hearts, love of God, Psalm 23, sacred heart of Jesus, sheep, shepherd, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Somewhat distractedly, I began to skim the lectionary readings for today. First it was Ezechiel talking about God tending sheep – which always conjures up in me a vague envy for the life of a sheep herder or a dairy farmer (a more realistic choice for our day and location). It’s unrealistic, I know, but there’s something about seeing the animals in the simplicity of their lives – just grazing and having a routine with someone to care for them who moves through the days in relative quiet…Idyllic, no? Well, although I know the reality to be more difficult than that description, there is a warm feeling that arises when I read EZ 34: 11-16 as I did this morning. Then came the 23rd psalm and by the time I got to a second reading before the gospel I realized today must be a special feast in the Church.  And so it is. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, simply described, as Paul does, in the letter to the Romans (5:5) by the declaration: “Brothers and sisters, the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” The gospel completes the metaphoric shepherd references with the wonderful question of Jesus: “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost one until he finds it?”

It’s all about love, you see – the kind of love that is selfless enough to always think of the good the other more than our own comfort. Jesus was trying to convey that message about God by using something the people were familiar with in order for them to get the message. As I write I hear the melody of a “shepherd song” composed long ago by the St. Louis Jesuits that still conveys the message, not only of care but of tenderness, to me. The refrain says this: Like a shepherd he feeds his flock and carries the lambs in his arms, holding them carefully close to his heart, leading them home.

This is a wonderful day to think of what and whom we love and what it is that makes this love flow out of our hearts. If I love my job, is it because I earn a lot of money, or is it the service I provide and the relationships that develop because of what I do? If I love my family and/or friends, is it because there is never a disturbance – our days being placid and we unruffled by any occurrence? Or is it that there is some long-term commitment and care that has built up trust so that no matter the difficulties, we are in the relationships “for the long haul?” Admittedly, it is easy to feel the love in the easy times but think about the deepening that moments of reconciliation after distress lead to in a relationship. It’s that way with God too. When we are the “found sheep” we are likely able to hear God’s heartbeat more clearly as we are held close, as we are led home…Such a God is ours, such a grace is God’s love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Different Kind of King

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Christ the King, Ezekiel, flock, Matthew, Psalm 23, shepherd, Thanksgiving. Advent, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today, as we in the United States of America move toward the celebration of Thanksgiving for all the blessings we have received, the Christian Church calendar moves toward a new year that begins next Sunday with the first Sunday of Advent, a short season that culminates in the great feast of Christmas. Today, then, finds us standing “on tiptoe” in expectation of the coming of Christ into the world.

At the same time as looking forward to the birth of Jesus, we pause to consider the mystery of God’s reign present now and to come at the end of time. We celebrate this reality today as the feast of Christ the King. It is significant that the Scripture readings for this feast speak of a king interested not in power over others but rather acting like a shepherd feeding his flock, carrying the lambs in his arms (EZ 34). This tender Shepherd is our constant companion on our life’s journey as Psalm 23, the great Shepherd Psalm, tells us. And the gospel of Matthew (chapter 25) lays out our role of responsibility in the kingdom of the Good Shepherd. We are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty…knowing the edict that “as long as you do this for the least of these brothers and sisters, you do it for me.”

Psalm 23 and Matthew 25 are among the most familiar texts in the  Judeo-Christian Scriptures, bringing first comfort and then challenge to all who are willing to pay attention to the message. They are the perfect “hors d’oeuvre” to bring to my heart’s Thanksgiving table, a motivation to love that may, if I stay awake, carry me all the way to Christmas.

 

Walking the Walk

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faithful, flock, God, Lord, Peter, Psalm 23, shepherd, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today my Church celebrates the feast of “The Chair of Peter” which is all about shepherding and taking care of “the flock” that Jesus entrusted to Peter. The psalm used in the readings for this feast is the universally best known of all 150 psalms in the Scriptures. We call it (Psalm 23) the Shepherd Psalm. It is often used at funerals and in many moments of crisis or danger. Some of us can recite every word but even if we can only get as far as “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” it brings comfort. There have recently been “contemporary translations” written, which for some are blasphemous but for some make the concepts more meaningful today. The one that comes to my mind is “The Lord is my timekeeper; I shall not rush.”

This morning I’m drawn to the verse that says, “Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.” That certainly is an ideal mindset, but I think of all that’s happening in the world today and I wonder if I could live up to it if I lived in Syria or the Ukraine or North Korea right now. But then I think of Peter who, even though Jesus chose him as a leader, was a bit of a coward when the going got tough. Remember the walking on water incident or his denial the night Jesus was arrested. He had boasted his willingness to follow Jesus wherever he went but certainly is a failure as a model of success. Fear, it seems, is a great equalizer.

Thinking about Peter gives me another kind of courage and comfort in the face of this psalm. I can repeat the words and really mean them and draw great peace from the promise. The greatest comfort of all, however, is knowing not that I am faithful to God, my Shepherd, but that God is faithful to me. In this knowledge, in this God’s company, I continue to walk my path.

Living in the House of the Lord

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Advent, God, Gospel of Matthew, Isaiah, Jesus, Kingdom, Lord, Psalm 23, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The readings this morning are indicative of the two aspects of the Kingdom of God, namely the “here and now” and the “not yet”. The first reading from Isaiah the prophet (ch. 25) speaks of the future when, on the Lord’s holy mountain, all will eat rich food and drink good wine and no one will be hungry or thirsty any more. Jesus brings that vision into reality when, in Matthew 15, he takes pity on the crowds that have been following him because nobody has been thinking about eating and now it’s getting late and they’re out in a desert somewhere with no place to buy food. In one of the most familiar stories of the gospels, a few loaves and fishes become more than enough for everyone.

So is everything taken care of then? Was the miracle of Jesus that day enough to satisfy Isaiah’s vision? Not likely if we look at the statistics from around the world, or more to the point, around our own country where food pantries are hard-pressed to serve all their clients and the lines at soup kitchens get longer every day.

The psalm refrain for this morning is instructive, I believe. Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd psalm, is punctuated after each verse with the words:

I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Trusting that God’s promise is true for our ultimate destiny in the Kingdom to come but understanding that we are co-creators of that Kingdom in our day, we must follow the example of Jesus in two ways. First, we must wake up (a familiar theme in this Advent season) to the needs of those who hunger for food for their bodies or souls. Secondly, we must be willing to put ourselves out to answer the question that the apostles put to Jesus: Where would we get enough food for all these people? Living in the house of the Lord posts a challenge that calls us to mindfulness at every tick of the clock, in every encounter of our day. It seems a good day, then, to keep the psalm refrain as a companion all day, pondering how I perceive “the house of the Lord” and how I might take up residence there each day.